During the next few monthly workshops, we will be working through the 12 Stages of Healing exercises. Feel free to join us at any time.

Last week, we talked about how you can switch your nervous system from a sympathetic to parasympathetic state, simply by changing your breath patterns.

This week, we will discuss times during the day where you can pay special attention to your breathing.

Start by observing.

Watch your breath throughout the day and before, during and after different activities. Note any differences.

Does your breathing change when you sit down at your computer to start work? How about before bed when you're trying to sleep? 

 When you notice your breath is shallow, take a deep and comfortable breath.

Another good time to be aware is before you start to eat. The digestive system slows down when you are in a stressed state. This is because the digestive system takes a lot of blood and energy and in a emergency, the blood is needed to go to your limbs to either run away or fight off danger.

When your body is under stress, it also slows down the absorption of nutrients.

Taking a few minutes to ensure that you are in a relaxed state before eating can help to improve your digestion and better absorb the food you eat.

Need help on your healing journey? Give our office a call.  I am available for virtual consults and in-office consults.  613-446-6060.  For more information about virtual treatments, Click HERE.
 
Looking for more information about Neuro-Optimization? Click HERE.

For more information about my office (Bioheal Ottawa), click HERE.

Why do I tell patients to take a deep breath?

Besides being necessary for our survival, breathing techniques can be used to communicate with different parts of our nervous system.

During short term and acute stress (for example, you slam the brakes suddenly to stop your car), your breathing will increase to get more oxygen into your blood. More blood flow going to your muscles will help you run away from or fight any threats.  

These "stress breaths" tend to be quick and shallow. You are mostly breathing into the upper lobes of your lungs.

If you go from this acute stress state into to a chronic, long-term stress state, this shallow breathing will continue and this sympathetic breathing pattern will be your normal. 

When your body is in the sympathetic stress pattern, a certain pathway of chemicals are released and your body has a set response....and important things like digestion and healing are put aside.

When you are in a state of relaxation, your parasympathetic nervous system is dominant and your breaths are deep, slow and rhythmic.

Air fills all the lobes of the lungs. You may even see your belly rise and fall with your breathing.

Start by tuning into your breath and noticing the way you breathe. Studying your breathing patterns will give you an indication of the state of your body. While you may or may not feel like you are stressed, you body may still be stuck in a stress pattern.

This is a great time to come in for an appointment so we can change the state of your breath.

Need help on your healing journey? Give our office a call.  I am available for virtual consults and in-office consults.  613-446-6060.  For more information about virtual treatments, Click HERE.
 
Looking for more information about Neuro-Optimization? Click HERE.

For more information about my office (Bioheal Ottawa), click HERE.

 

When we are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, we’re told that we need to seek self-care. Our well meaning friends and family tell us that we need to take care of ourselves. This is NOT what we need. 

Taking care of everything and everyone by ourselves is probably what led to the feelings of stress in the first place. We do not need more self-care. What we need is community care.

Going way back to the neolithic period, we lived in communities. This was imperative to our survival. Certain members of the tribe would be in charge of gathering and hunting food while others would look after tidying, watching the children and defending the tribe against predators. 

The only way to survive and thrive was to work together. If someone committed a terrible crime, their punishment would be to leave the tribe. This was essentially sentencing someone to death.

Now, in the North American culture, our families consist of the members of the same household and our tribes are those same people. The burden of all the tasks now rests on the shoulders of only a couple of people. It’s no wonder that mental illness is at an all time high. Throw in a pandemic and you’re setting up a society for failure.

Luckily, the tribe concept is not all lost. Various cultures and communities still live multigenerationally or near each other in order to help out. This can often be seen in many cultures where a family consists of several many families getting together along with members of a community.

If you were at your limit and stressed, do you need to add meditation, exercise, cooking, etc. to your list of things you need to do? No, that would make you feel worse as you already feel like you don’t have enough time in your day. Instead, you need to work together with your community to help each other out.

May the post pandemic world be filled with communities that come together in order to help support each other. The world does not need more isolation, the pandemic has shown it. It needs more “family.”

Would you like to be part of a healing community? Join in one of my free monthly workshops. We meet on Zoom and you can connect to others who are forward thinkers, learners and who want to heal and help others.

​Need help on your healing journey? Give our office a call.  I am available for virtual consults and in-office consults.  613-446-6060.  For more information about virtual treatments, Click HERE.
 
Looking for more information about Neuro-Optimization? Click HERE.

For more information about my office (Bioheal Ottawa), click HERE.